Somalia
Somalia: When the occupier grasps the mindset of the occupied
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Apr 13, 2008 - 11:42:11 AM

SUNDAY EDITORIAL | Of course, Mr. Zenawi understands the Somalis' complex web of clan loyalties and shifting alliances.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, is certainly a man of many layers. Be it by fate, or by his manipulative use of the global tide against the rise of political Islam, Prime Minister Zenawi has managed to accomplish something his Amharic kingdom predecessors could not do in centuries: subdue the Somalis. So, it is no surprise that he talks with an aura of arrogance and self-righteousness when he addresses questions posed by Western journalists. In his most recent interview, Prime Minister Zenawi told Newsweek magazine that the Ethiopian government will most certainly not "wait another year" for the complete deployment of an 8,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force to replace Ethiopian troops in Somalia.

The Islamist-led insurgency in Somalia has now entered its 16th consecutive month. The Ethiopian leader, fully aware that he is addressing a largely Western audience, was quick to point out to Newsweek that Ethiopia's December 2006 intervention in Somalia took "the bubble out of this Shabaab phenomenon." He was critical of U.S. financial support for Mogadishu warlords in early 2006 to fight against the rise of the Islamic Courts movement, saying: "That policy failed miserably."

Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's Prime Minister

Does this mean Prime Minister Zenawi is convinced that Ethiopia's military intervention is a success? He wrongly informed Newsweek that the Ethiopian government has a "two, three thousand" troops deployed in Somalia. Any resident in Mogadishu will testify that such a small number of Ethiopian soldiers are deployed in a single district of the Somali capital, where they face a daily barrage of rebel machineguns and rocket attacks. It is noteworthy to remember that Prime Minister Zenawi told the international media days after invading Mogadishu that the Ethiopian army will stay in Somalia for "a few weeks."

A few weeks transformed into a protracted conflict, where the interim government is dependent for its very survival on the continued protection of the Ethiopian army. In recent weeks, Islamist guerrillas have intensified their attacks in the countryside. Somali government troops and regional governors have been forced to flee their home towns as the Islamists' masked fighters mysteriously pour out of the mountains and seize control of key towns. This "Shabaab phenomenon" is the same one Prime Minister Zenawi refers to when he says the Ethiopian army took "the bubble" out of.

But, to his credit, Ethiopia's leader expressed his deep comprehension of the Somali problem when he clearly indicated that neither Islamist nor nationalist sentiment can overpower the Somalis' clan sentiment: "The problem in Somalia is an oversupply of sub-sub-clannish attitude," Prime Minister Zenawi told Newsweek.

Of course, Mr. Zenawi understands the Somalis' complex web of clan loyalties and shifting alliances. He was a poor rebel in Mogadishu in 1980s; he was fed and trained by Somalia's last effective government to overthrow Ethiopia's Mengistu regime. Since his rise to power in 1991, Mr. Zenawi's regime has successfully micromanaged the Somali clans, pitting one clan against another, pushing forward rival clan interests with the long-term aim of eradicating Somali national identity from the face of the globe.

However, Mr. Zenawi whose army occupies Somalia cannot be blamed for comprehending the Somalis, the occupied, can he?

Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com